# Snapshots

> Keep up to three copies of a server's disk, go back to one if a change goes wrong, and why the server is down for about a minute each time.

Source: https://vpsnine.com/help/snapshots · Updated: 2026-10-10

A snapshot is a copy of your server's disk at one moment. Take one before an upgrade or a risky config change. If the change goes wrong, revert, and the disk is back to how it was when you took the snapshot.

## What you get

- **The disk, not the memory.** Programs that were running aren't saved. After a revert the server boots from the restored disk, as if it had been switched off at that moment.
- **Up to 3 per server.** To take a fourth, delete one first.
- **Snapshots live with the server.** Reinstalling or deleting the server deletes all of its snapshots. So does the deletion that follows an [unpaid renewal](https://vpsnine.com/help/unpaid-renewal).

At launch, snapshots don't count against your plan's disk space.

## The minute of downtime

Snapshots are taken with the server shut off, so that the copy is consistent. When you take, revert or delete a snapshot of a running server, we shut it down cleanly, do the work, and start it again. Expect it to be unreachable for about a minute.

A server that was stopped stays stopped after a snapshot is taken or deleted. A revert always ends with the server running.

While a snapshot job runs, the server's other actions (start, stop, reboot and so on) wait for it to finish.

## Take one

In the panel, open the server and go to **snapshots**. Give the snapshot a name you'll recognise later, like `before-upgrade`, and choose **take snapshot**. Names are up to 40 letters, digits, spaces, dots, dashes or underscores, starting with a letter or digit.

The snapshot shows as **being taken…** and then **ready**. The server has to be running or stopped; you can't take one while it's suspended or busy with another action.

From the [command line](https://vpsnine.com/help/install-the-vps9-cli):

```bash
vps9 snapshots web-1 create before-upgrade
vps9 snapshots web-1                       # the list, oldest first
```

The [API](https://vpsnine.com/help/api-quickstart) does the same under `/servers/:id/snapshots`.

## Revert to one

Choose **revert…** next to the snapshot and type the server's hostname to confirm. Everything written to the disk since the snapshot was taken is lost, and that can't be undone. The snapshot itself stays, so you can revert to it again later.

```bash
vps9 snapshots web-1 revert before-upgrade
```

If a revert fails, the server shows **error**. [Open a support ticket](https://my.vpsnine.com/support/new?category=server) with its name.

## Delete one

Choose **delete…** next to the snapshot and type the hostname. A running server is shut off for about a minute while the snapshot is removed.

```bash
vps9 snapshots web-1 rm before-upgrade
```

The CLI asks you to type the hostname before a revert or a delete. Add `--yes` to skip that in a script.

If a snapshot fails part way through, it doesn't linger on the disk taking up space. The next snapshot you take clears out anything that isn't in your list.

## Snapshots aren't backups

Snapshots are stored with the server's disk, on the same machine. A disk failure, a deleted server or a lapsed renewal takes them all at once. They're for undoing a change, not for keeping your data safe. For that, copy it somewhere else: [Back up your server](https://vpsnine.com/help/backups-you-should-run) shows how.